Surviving the Dead Inside
by The Lone Writer - 2016
Summary: Daryl stumbles across a tough, lone woman named Rain & tries to recruit her for Alexandria. After running afoul of the Wolves she gets lost, and eventually finds the Kingdom instead. She meets & falls in love with Benjamin who saves her. After his death she is broken, & grows much closer to Daryl. Together they'll help fight Negan & the Saviors.
1. Excerpt

The following chapter is an excerpt from my unfinished story.

Rain is a character I created, and while my story closely follows the Walking Dead tv series I have made minor changes to events and/or characters to suit the course of my fiction.

...

 _Chapter ? :_ _Today We Mourn_

From his current vantage point up on the hill Daryl could see down onto the burial grounds of the Kingdom. He could see Rain, she was leaning over Benjamin's grave, arranging flowers that Ezekiel and Henry had brought.

Henry hugged Rain before trailing away with his head down. Ezekiel made to follow, then turned back to Rain and gently laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. He gave her a reassuring nod, then began following Henry towards the gardens, leaving Rain alone at Benjamin's grave.

Once they were far enough away Rain slowly dropped to her knees, one hand placed on Benjamin's wooden gravestone. She hung her head, and from the way her shoulders were shaking Daryl strongly suspected that she was crying.

He felt a stab in his heart as he watched her grieve, he supposed the feeling was empathy. He strangely felt an urge to go to her and comfort her, but he didn't know how. He watched her for a little while longer, as the sun began to sink lower in the hazy sky, then he started slowly down the hill.

Daryl approached the graveyard cautiously. Rain was now taking something out of her pocket. She gently placed it over the wooden cross nailed to the gravestone. Close enough now, Daryl could see it was a patterned blue and yellow friendship bracelet.

Rain glanced sideways at him; he could see tears streaming down her cheeks. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice oddly disconnected.

Daryl bowed his head solemnly. "I came to pay my respects. I'm sorry to hear about Benjamin."

Rain's eyes filled up with fresh tears but she raised her head to meet his gaze. "You hardly knew him."

"Morgan spoke highly of him, said he was eager to learn. I know Carol did, too. He was one of the good guys."

"It's always the same story." When Rain began to speak again her voice cracked. "The good ones are always the ones that die. It's like they're too kind for this world; they don't deserve to live in it."

At these words Daryl felt a similar lump welling up in his throat but he willed the tears away. He turned his head away slightly, fighting the memories threatening to spill out.

Rain noticed his reaction and understood his thoughts. She wiped at the tears on her face with her sleeve. "She was one of the good ones wasn't she?... Beth?"

Daryl swallowed hard, it had been awhile since he had thought about Beth. He nodded. "She was. She was a fighter too, though, in her own way. But still too pure for this life. So was Glenn."

Rain's eyes were still misty. "Ben always wanted to see the good in everything. He had so much potential. And he was so much braver than he gave himself credit for."

Daryl grinned. "Yeah, he seemed like a pretty tough kid. Maybe he just didn't know it."

Now it was Rain's turn to grin. "How can you call him a kid? He was 27."

"My point exactly. He was 27."

Rain chuckled quietly then turned back towards the gravestone. She stood up slowly.

Daryl motioned to the bracelet she had placed on the cross. "What's that for?"

"Ben. He said making friendship bracelets was one of his hidden talents." Rain smiled sadly. "He was a great guitar player too, he was so damn talented. When I first got to the Kingdom, not long after you found me, I was having a lot of trouble... adjusting. After being on my own for so long, I had trouble being around so many people, and I was struggling with everything that happened before. And then I got to know Ben. He made it so easy to open up, after so much time of being alone. I didn't want to admit that maybe I actually did need people in my life."

Daryl was staring intently at Rain as she spoke, and not for the first time did he have the thought that he and Rain were eerily alike.

"Ben told me to keep reminders on me of everybody I cared about. He said they'd help pull me back during the rough times, and remind me there were things worth living for. People worth living for. So he made me bracelets, and told me to wear them as my reminders. 1 for each person I wanted to live for." She smiled and touched a blue and pink bracelet on her wrist. "This is the one he made me to represent him. He placed it on my wrist one night and told me never to take it off, so I'd always have a piece of him with me." She touched the bracelet she had hung on the cross and spoke quietly. "He taught me how to make them. He taught me a lot of things."

Daryl was at a loss for words. He stood there in the fading sunlight, uncomfortably shifting his gaze away from Rain's emotional eyes.

"I never got the chance to tell him that I loved him."

Daryl bowed his head, unable to meet her eyes. "Maybe he knew," he managed to say, albeit awkwardly.

Rain wiped roughly at her eyes and took a deep breath. "I remember now why I spent so much time alone after it all started. Everybody I ever dared to get close to got taken away. Ben was the first person who made me feel happy, and safe." She sighed heavily and with her shoulder length wispy hair falling in her puffy, tear streaked face she suddenly looked a lot older and wearier than her 30 years made her.

Daryl stared at her. "So what now, then?"

Rain turned to look at him, her face a mix of surprise and determination. "Now? We fight."

Daryl held her steely, tear filled gaze. He nodded. "We fight."

She nodded back, firm. She glanced down towards the gardens, where Ezekiel and Henry were planting seeds and flowers. "Today we mourn. Benjamin deserved as much."

Daryl followed her gaze down towards the gardens. Ezekiel had just been joined by Carol.

Rain nodded approvingly. "Good, I'm glad Carol's here. We'll need her. I heard she's a great marksman."

"No," Daryl said sternly.

Rain turned to look at him. "What? I heard that she's a great fighter. Tough as nails."

"She's not going," Daryl said flatly, clearly ending the discussion.

Rain was momentarily taken aback at his almost threatening tone of voice. Then she realized he must have been trying to protect Carol. "You care about her a lot, huh?" Rain said gently, momentarily pulled out of her own despair at Daryl's heavy display of emotion.

Daryl shrugged uncomfortably.

"Are you guys like... you know...?"

Daryl turned his head sharply and fixed her with a reproachful look. "No, it's not like that."

"Sorry," Rain said innocently. "I didn't mean anything by it."

Daryl turned back to gaze down at the gardens.

"Ezekiel also seems quite fond of her," Rain said carefully.

This made Daryl crack a small grin. "I've noticed."

Rain joined him at his side, looking down at the 3 of them, planting solemnly in the gardens side by side. "Look, I said I'd help with the planting before sundown. We could use an extra pair of hands. What do you say?"

"I don't have much of a green thumb," Daryl said hesitantly.

"Is that a no?" Rain countered.

Daryl looked at her, his eyes narrowed. She held his gaze. "Alright," he finally said.

They silently joined Carol, Ezekiel and Henry. Ezekiel greeted them with silent nods as Rain and Daryl picked up a spade and some seeds.

Rain watched quietly as Henry showed Daryl how to plant the seeds. She smiled and gently touched the bracelets on her wrist representing Henry and Daryl. There was a nauseous, scared feeling in the pit of her stomach as she thought of her life without Benjamin. She knew though, thanks to him, that there was still people worth living for. And Benjamin, though no longer in this world, was also still worth living for. As long as she was living she would find people worth living for. She was sure of that now. She pulled her sleeve down and picked up a spade to dig a hole for the lettuce seeds.


	2. Chapter 1: Last Resort

The midday sun was hot as hell. _Fitting climate for a zombie apocalypse_ , Daryl Dixon supposed as he trudged through the overgrown grass. His crossbow was slung over his shoulder, his hair plastered to his angular face from sweat. He roughly brushed away a lock of hair in his eye and then his gaze fell upon a dirt road.

"That's it," Aaron said in his usual affable manner. "About a mile up the hill is the resort."

Their feet made dirt tracks on the trail and the heat hung thick in the air around them, all they could hear was their own heavy breathing from the exertion.

"Look, Daryl, I want to say thanks for agreeing to come and recruit with me. Even if this doesn't work out, I'll know we gave it a fair shot. And I know that you can help me make the right decision this time. You can tell the good guys from the bad guys." Aaron hung his head briefly, his eyes tormented with remorse. "I guess I can't."

Daryl stopped walking and turned to look at him. "We'll find people. The right people."

Aaron nodded bravely and after a pause they continued up the path. "If this woman is still there she's somebody worth talking to. She grew crops, was capable of taking down walkers, spent a lot of time reading and painting."

"And you're sure you never saw her with anybody else?" Daryl asked.

Aaron knew Daryl well enough now to know that whatever answer he gave would still not be satisfactory for Daryl; his guard would be up at all times and he would constantly be on the lookout. "No," Aaron said confidently. "I watched the cabins for almost 3 days, I never saw another person. The cabins were locked but I checked through the windows. No other people in there."

Crickets chirped in the dry heat and they walked in relative silence, both contemplating the task ahead. So far on their travels they hadn't found any other people, this was the last stop before heading back to Alexandria. Daryl knew Aaron wanted this to be redemption for his mistake, and Daryl silently hoped it would be.

A familiar guttural growl broke the silence of the late afternoon around them and Daryl turned quickly towards the sound. Leaves rustled under shuffling footsteps from somewhere off to the left and Daryl crept towards the cluster of trees with the experienced stealth of a tracker. The walker snarled again and burst through a tangle of bushes ahead. He lurched drunkenly towards the two men, his arms reaching, his mouth a gaping black maw of coagulated blood and rotted flesh.

Daryl's eyes narrowed; he raised his crossbow and fired without hesitation. The arrow pierced cleanly through the walker's head with a mild splattering of blood and muck. The walker crashed to the ground and was still. Daryl braced his foot against the walker's face and methodically pulled the arrow out of the walker's head which made a mushy, slurping sound that no longer phased him. All business, Daryl wiped the brain fragments off the arrow and stuffed both the blood caked rag and arrow back into his bag.

Without another word they continued up the road, then through the haze ahead a cluster of cabins and deserted campsites suddenly materialized at the crest of the hill. Daryl approached quietly, his crossbow drawn, Aaron moved silently behind him, one hand on his machete. They eased through the gate under a large wooden sign that said 'Pinewood Resort'. The sign hung askew and a crude attempt at a barbed wire fence enclosed the perimeter. Daryl and Aaron gingerly moved through the small opening, eyes sweeping the seemingly deserted grounds. The cabins looked quiet and relatively clean from the outside, Daryl could see a roped off area behind the first cabin that extended down towards the property. Different crops and plants sprouted in narrow rows. Edging closer to the garden and sniffing gingerly Daryl thought he could detect a familiar odor that he had not smelled since before the outbreak. He took another deep sniff and the odor was unmistakable - it was the sweet, acrid sting of marijuana smoke.

Daryl turned to Aaron and put a finger over his lips. "Somebody's here," he whispered. "You smell that?"

Aaron raised his nose to the air and took a sniff as well, his eyes registering surprise. He nodded.

Stepping as lightly as a Mother leaving her sleeping baby's room, Daryl and Aaron crept past the first two cabins on either side and made their way towards the largest cabin by the forest. Aaron had said that was where the woman spent most of her time.

Daryl heard a muffled sound behind them and he stiffened, his body poised to turn and see what had made the noise. Just in front of him Aaron had also frozen in his tracks. Before either of them could turn around or speak they heard the quiet, unmistakable sound of a pistol cocking.

Daryl suddenly felt something cold and hard poke him in the head, he knew it was the barrel of a gun.

"Drop it," a firm voice proclaimed.

Daryl eased his crossbow to the ground. In front of him Aaron laid his machete down as well.

The woman spoke again, sounding a little less brusque now that they had obligingly laid their weapons down. She slowly took a step back, removing the gun from Daryl's head. "Turn around and keep your hands where I can see them."

Turning around Daryl found himself staring at a woman who looked to be in her late twenties. Her deep brown hair fell to her shoulders, a small lock fell gently into her deep hazel eyes. Her full red lips were set into a stern line as she eyed them warily. She still had the gun pointing at them. "Who are you and what are you doing on my resort?"

Aaron knew that tact was not one of Daryl's best traits so he decided to speak up in light of the fact they had a gun pointed at them. "My name is Aaron, and that's Daryl. We come from a settlement of people to the East."

The woman still didn't look convinced. Daryl remembered the smell of marijuana smoke, and thought that the woman's eyes looked a little glazed. However, intoxicated or not, he knew it would not be wise to underestimate her.

"Ok... so what do you want?"

Aaron spoke cautiously. "Our group is looking for people. People who want a safe place to live and work, and build a community of survivors. We have food, we have protection. We've brought you a peace offering."

The woman looked even more wary and held her gun firm as Aaron reached slowly into his back pack. He pulled out a book that looked as if it were new. She glanced at it and then gazed at them almost to an unnerving degree, analyzing.

Aaron held up his hands looking the absolute picture of friendly innocence that he was. "We just want to talk. We can do that out here, or we can sit down outside. I'd really appreciate it if you could hear what we have to say. Then if you want we'll go. We mean you no harm, I promise."

The woman took a deep breath, her curvy frame was still firmly planted in a defensive shooting stance. Aaron's easy manner seemed to have passed her acid test; she lowered her gun and nodded. "Alright. Bring your weapons inside but leave them on the table at the front door. We can talk, for now."

Then she ushered them ahead gently to the large cabin at the edge of the perimeter.


End file.
